The hunt resumes Sept. 14

If there’s one thing that I have a soft spot for, it’s 80s action movies. One of the defining movies of this genre is “Predator.”

It just so happens to be a personal favorite movie of mine.

So I’ve been waiting with baited breath for anything more substantial than the trailer for “The Predator,” the newest movie in the franchise.

It takes place between “Predator 2,” and the 2010 film, “Predators,” featuring Adrian Brody. So it’s been about eight years since anything from the series has been on screen.

While “Predators,” was a reinvention of the wheel as far as the series goes, I’ve been wanting a more classic style movie that takes place on Earth.

“The Predator” takes place on Halloween in a nice suburban neighborhood, which I think serves as a great foil to the “Predator 2” location of Los Angeles.

The setting allows for more interactions between the Predator, which I will refer to as “Block Hunter,” until the official name is released, and normal humans.

I can’t wait for the eventual scene of a kid loving how cool Block Hunter’s costume is. Also, the setting allows for the titular antagonist to just walk around the city without having to stay cloaked the entire time.

Another reason I’m excited for the film is the team behind it. Shane Black is directing the film. His accolades include writing “Lethal Weapon,” “Lethal Weapon 2,” “The Monster Squad,” and “The Last Action Hero.” He directed “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” one of my favorite dark comedies, “The Nice Guys,” and “Iron Man 3.”

His biggest positive for the role of director of the film, in my opinion, is that he played Rick Hawkins in the original film, “Predator.” He was the radio operator that told terrible jokes and ended up on the wrong end of a Jungle Hunter’s blade.

Joining him as producer is John Davis, who served as producer on “Predator,” “Predator 2,” and “Alien vs Predator.”

With these veterans to the series, I’m hoping they can remake some of the magic of the first two movies, and I have faith in them.

The movie poster for the film is exactly what I wanted, closely resembling the poster from “Predator 2.”

However, recently it was revealed that the movie is undergoing reshoots for the third act of the film. Supposedly this is due to poor fan reaction of “friendly” Predators and multiple hybrid Predators. While personally, I’ve always loved the idea of both of those, I understand that it’s not what many people want out of the movie.

This does worry me that having to change so much of the third act so close to release will make a lackluster or bland ending to the film. However, they could always just rewrite it like the end of “Predator” and I would be completely fine with that.

Honestly, I’m just happy to have another movie in the collection that’s more of a return to form for the series. I can’t wait to see how the movie turns out and the fate of Block Hunter when “The Predator,” releases on Sept. 14.

Justin Blowers is a staff writer for The Southeast Sun and Daleville Sun-Courier. The opinions of this writer are his own and not the opinion of the paper. He can be reached at (334) 393-2969 or by email at [email protected].